Fire at Chamber president's condo quickly knocked down

PORTSMOUTH — A fire was quickly knocked down Monday in the Cedar Ridge condominium unit owned by Doug Bates, president of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce.

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By Crystal A. Weyers

seacoastonline.com

By Crystal A. Weyers

Posted Mar. 4, 2014 at 2:00 AM

By Crystal A. Weyers

Posted Mar. 4, 2014 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

PORTSMOUTH — A fire was quickly knocked down Monday in the Cedar Ridge condominium unit owned by Doug Bates, president of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce.

Firefighters evacuated the condos on Ocean Road after the fire was reported at 2:37 p.m. The condominium unit was not occupied at the time of the fire and no one was injured, Fire Chief Steve Achilles said.

"When we arrived on scene, there was smoke showing from the roof ridge," he said. "Once inside, there was smoke and a fire on the second floor."

Achilles said the fire did not extend to the unit next door, but crews were inside just to be safe. The full extent of the damage was not immediately known, but Achilles said the building should be habitable as the structure was not damaged. Some furniture and other items were damaged, he said.

Bates was called by a neighbor and he returned home. Bates checked the damage inside with the fire chief and said he thinks an electrical device overheated and his computer was destroyed.

"We have an alarm in there," he told Achilles, who was not sure who had reported the fire.

Another resident of Cedar Ridge, Bill Quirk, said Bates had recently completed an extensive renovation of the unit. Quirk has lived in the complex for more than 20 years and said Bates has lived there "some time less than that."

The fire was quickly knocked down, although the private hydrant near the unit had been buried under snow and firefighters had to shovel it out.

Achilles said it is very important to remove snow from around hydrants.

"You don't know when it will be a problem," he said. "This just goes to show that a fire can happen at any time."

Achilles said an investigation would be done to determine the official cause of the fire, but that a state fire marshal was not required.